King Charles III and United States President, Donald Trump hailed the “special relationship” between the United Kingdom and the United States during a glittering state banquet at Windsor Castle on Wednesday evening.
The lavish event, attended by 160 guests including senior royals, politicians, and global business leaders, marked the highlight of Trump’s second state visit to Britain.
The King opened the evening by celebrating the “enduring bond” between the two nations, praising their transformation from “historic enemies into the closest of kin.”
Trump, in turn, described the visit as one of the “greatest honours” of his life, calling the alliance “priceless and eternal” and likening the countries to “two verses of the same poem… meant to be played together.”
The president and First Lady Melania Trump were personally welcomed by King Charles, alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales, before entering St George’s Hall for the feast.
At the banquet, Trump singled out Princess Catherine, who wore a dazzling gold couture gown and the Lover’s Knot Tiara, describing her as “so radiant and so healthy and so beautiful” following her recent cancer remission.
He also praised Prince William as “remarkable” and predicted “unbelievable success” in his future.
The evening combined royal pageantry with international diplomacy, with guests such as Rupert Murdoch, Sir Nick Faldo, and leading US tech chiefs, including Sam Altman and Tim Cook, in attendance.
Outside Windsor, thousands of demonstrators marched through central London under the banner of the Stop Trump Coalition, reviving the now-iconic Trump baby blimp to protest the state visit.
On Thursday, attention shifts to Chequers, where Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will host Trump for high-level talks.
The pair are expected to announce a new UK–US “technology prosperity deal” centred on AI, alongside a £150bn wave of American investment, though disagreements linger over Middle East policy and stalled negotiations on steel tariffs.
Starmer is also preparing to make a landmark announcement recognising a Palestinian state once Trump’s visit concludes, a move that risks placing London at odds with Washington but aligns the UK with France, Australia, and Canada ahead of the UN General Assembly later this month.
Meanwhile, Melania Trump and Princess Catherine are set to make history with their first joint engagement at Frogmore Gardens, an outing without their spouses, signalling the deepening ties between the two nations on both diplomatic and personal fronts.
